A display has at least one pair of revolving door panels hinged to a box frame by means of hinging means actuated by actuation means intended to permit the synchronous movement of the door panels of the pair of door panels.
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1. A display apparatus comprising:
A box frame having a compartment and an opening to access said compartment;
at least one pair of revolving door panels adapted to at least partially close said opening of said box frame, each door panel of said at least one pair of revolving door panels being connected to said box frame so as to have a closing position and an opening position;
a hinge connecting each door panel of said at least one pair of revolving door panels to said box frame, said hinge causing the door panel to rotate around an axis of rotation, said hinge having a first pivoting pin that connects and hinges the door panel to said box frame; and
an actuator cooperative with said hinge so as to rotate the door panel around said axis of rotation, said actuator comprising:
an electric motor;
a slide that is actuated by said electric motor so as to travel rectilinearly;
a connecting rod connected to said slide;
a pair of cranks in which one of said pair of cranks is connected to said connecting rod, each crank of said pair of cranks being connected to said first pivoting pin such that each door panel is connected to only one crank of said pair of cranks; and
a transmission lever connecting said pair of cranks.
2. The display apparatus of
3. The display apparatus of
4. The display apparatus of
6. The display apparatus of
a movement compartment coupled to each door panel so as to move each door panel, said movement compartment being coupled to said actuator so be activated by said actuator; and
a coupler that couples said movement compartment with the door panel, said coupler adapted to uncouple said movement compartment from the door panel in order to allow the door panel to move manually independently of said actuator.
7. The display apparatus of
8. The display apparatus of
a first section connected to said actuator and to said movement compartment; and
a second section revolvingly inserted into a hole formed on the door panel.
9. The display apparatus of
10. The display apparatus of
11. The display apparatus of
12. The display apparatus of
a detector adapted to detect a presence of a user in proximity to said at least one pair of revolving door panels, said detector cooperative with said actuator so as to send an activation signal to said actuator in order to actuate the hinge to rotate the door panel around the axis of rotation.
13. The display apparatus of
a switch that is manually operated in order to send an activation signal to said actuator in order to activate said hinge so as to rotate the door panel around the axis of rotation.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present patent application for industrial invention relates to a display, in particular a refrigerated display used to display food products. Although in the following description reference is made to a refrigerated display, the present invention is extended to any type of display.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
Various types of refrigerated displays are known on the market to display food products.
The display (100) comprises two pairs (C) of revolving door panels (3) intended to close the opening (4) of the box frame (1).
Each door panel (3) can be disposed in a plurality of positions comprised between an opening position, wherein the pairs (C) of door panels (3) provide access to the compartment (2), and a closing position, wherein the access to the compartment (2) is prohibited to preserve the internal temperature.
The pairs (C) of door panels (3) open towards the interior of the compartment (2) in such way that, in opening position, the door panels (3) are contained inside the compartment (2).
With reference to
The two door panels (3) of each pair (C) are disposed in side by side position and hinged in correspondence of the opposite vertical edges (3a) in such a way to rotate in opposite direction around corresponding vertical axes of rotation (Y-Y).
Advantageously, said pairs (C) of door panels (3) are partially or fully transparent in order to allow the user to see the products contained in the compartment (2).
The display (100) comprises hinging means (7a) to hinge the door panels (3) to said box frame (1).
The hinging means (7a) are configured in such way that the door panels (3) rotate around the corresponding vertical axes (Y-Y) of rotation.
The hinging means (7a) comprise:
With reference to
The actuation means (M1) actuate the hinging means (7a) to make the door panel (3) rotate around the axis of rotation (Y-Y); in particular, the actuation means (M1) are connected to the upper pin (73) of the hinging means of each door panel (3).
The upper pin (73) of the hinging means of a door panel (3) is actuated by the actuation means (M1) and permits the rotation of the door panel (3).
The display (100) comprises detection means (R) to detect the presence of the user in proximity to the door panel (3) and/or inside the compartment (2) of the display (100), as shown in
The detection means (R) detect the presence of the user in proximity to one of the door panels (3) and send an activation signal, either directly or with a manual command, to the actuation means (M1) that consist in a set of electric motors, each of them comprising a drive shaft coupled to one of the upper pins (73) of the door panels (3); in view of the above, when a motor is actuated, the corresponding door panel (3) is rotated in the opening or closing direction according to the direction of rotation of the electric motor.
In case of a refrigerated display, the display (100) comprises means for cold air circulation, which are not shown in the figure, intended to refrigerate the interior of said compartment (2).
A first drawback of this type of known displays (100) consists in the difficulty encountered in synchronizing the simultaneous movement of the two door panels (3) of each pair (C) of door panels (3); such a drawback occurs when the two electric motors that are used to operate each pair (C) of door panels (3) are not perfectly synchronized originally or lose synchronization during operation.
A second drawback is related to the high purchasing and maintenance cost of the set of electric motors provided for the automatic actuation of the door panels (3).
Moreover, the door panels (3) are difficult to dismount given the fact that the upper pin (73) of each door panel (3) is firmly connected with the drive shaft of one of the electric motors.
An additional drawback of this kind of known displays (100) is related to the fact that the door panels (3) cannot be actuated if the actuation means (M1) are blocked.
The blocking of the electric motors can be caused either by a breakdown or a blackout.
Moreover, the door panels (3) are joined to the actuation means (M1) and consequently the incorrect operation of the actuation means (M1) would cause an incorrect actuation of the door panels (3).
Finally, another drawback is related to the fact that, in case of malfunctioning of the detection means (R), they would not identify the presence of the user's hand inside the compartment (2) and would consequently send an activation signal to the actuation means (M1) to enable the closing of the door panels (3), with the risk of injuring the user's hand by tightening it between the pair of door panels (3) automatically actuated in closing direction.
On the contrary, in case of malfunctioning, said detection means (R) would not identify the presence of a user in front of the door panels (3) and, consequently, would not send an activation signal to the actuation means (M1) to enable the opening of the door panels (3), thus preventing the user from accessing the compartment (2) and picking the desired product.
The main purpose of the present invention is to remedy the drawbacks of the prior art as described above by disclosing an improved display provided with actuation means for the pairs of door panels, which are able to solve the aforementioned problems with reference to the synchronization of the opening/closing movement of the door panels of each pair of door panels.
The second purpose of the present invention is to devise an improved display that is capable of operating also in case of breakdown or malfunctioning of the actuation means and of the detection means.
The third purpose of the present invention is to devise an improved display that, in addition to achieving the aforementioned purposes, is provided with actuation means for the automatic actuation of the door panels, which is able to avoid detrimental effects for the safety of the users or of the operators in charge of loading and maintaining the display of the invention.
These purposes are achieved in accordance to the invention with the characteristics of the independent claim 1.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention will appear from the dependent claims.
The display of the invention comprises:
The peculiarity of said display consists in the fact that said actuation means comprise:
For purposes of clarity, the description of the improved display of the invention continues with reference to the attached technical drawings, which only have an illustrative, not limiting value, wherein:
In the following description the parts that are identical or correspond to the parts described above with reference to the prior art are identified with the same numerals, omitting their detailed description.
With reference to
With reference to
The movement component (61) is a bar intended to be stopped against an upper part of the door panel (3).
The movement component (61) has an overturned “L” cross section, comprising:
Said horizontal portion (61a) comprises a lower side (611) directed towards the upper edge (3b) of the door panel (3). The horizontal portion (61a) and the vertical portion (61b) are connected perpendicularly.
The display (200) comprises fast coupling/uncoupling means (92, 93) to provide the fast coupling of the movement component (61) with the door panel (3) in order to actuate the door panel (3) by means of the actuation means (M), as well as the fast uncoupling of said movement component (61) from the door panel (3) in order to actuate said door panel (3) manually independently from the actuation means (M).
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said fast coupling/uncoupling means (92, 93) comprise magnetic retention means (92, 93) arranged on the door panel (3) and/or on the movement component (61).
In particular, said magnetic retention means (92, 93) advantageously comprise a magnet (92) fixed on the abutting side (612) of the vertical portion (61b) of the movement component (61), and a metal bracket (93) that is fixed on the first side (3d) of the door panel (3), in proximity to the upper edge (3b) of the door panel and cooperates with said magnet (92).
More precisely, when the door panel (3) is in closing position, said magnet (92) is stopped against said metal bracket (93).
Advantageously, said metal bracket (93) is fixed on the first side (3d) of the door panel (3) with screws (V).
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, which is not shown in the attached figures, said fast coupling/uncoupling means (92, 93) can comprise a pair of magnets, of which a first magnet is fixed on the first side (3d) of the door panel (3), in proximity to the upper edge (3b) of the door panel (3), and a second magnet is fixed on the abutting side (612) of the movement component (61).
As shown in
The hinging means comprise:
Said first pivoting pin (71) comprises a first section (71a) connected to said actuation means (M) and to said movement component (61), and a second section (71b) revolvingly inserted in idle inside a hole (F) provided on the door panel (3).
More precisely, the axis of rotation (Y-Y) of each door panel (3) is advantageously vertical and the first pivoting (71) of each door panel (3) has the first section (71a) disposed above the horizontal portion (61a) of the movement component (61) and the second section (71b) interposed between the upper edge (3b) of the door panel and the horizontal portion (61a) of the movement component (61).
With reference to
The actuation means (M) simultaneously actuate all the door panels (3), are positioned on the upper crosspiece (12) of the box frame (1) and are connected to the first pivoting pin (71) of each door panel (3).
The actuation means (M) are seen from above in
With reference to
The operation of the actuation means (M) is as follows:
The operation of the entire display (200) of the invention is described below, with reference to
As soon as a user stands in front of the display:
A first advantage can be found when one of the following problems occurs:
In the past, the door panels (3) were firmly connected to the actuation means (M), whereas in the present invention each door panel (3) can be always actuated, being released from the corresponding movement component (61); in order to do this, it is sufficient to apply a force on the door panel (3) that is capable of overcoming the attraction force between the magnet (92) and the metal bracket (93) that removably connect the door panel (3) to the corresponding movement component (61), and then manually rotate the door panel (3) that is freely pivoted with respect to the upper crosspiece (12) of the box frame (1).
Another circumstance in which the structure of the display (200) of the invention shows its advantages is when the door panels (3) close due to a malfunctioning of the detection means (R), while a user is picking a product that is contained in the interior of the display (200).
In such a situation the door panels (3), which are pushed by the actuation means (M) towards the closing position, interrupt the closing travel, being released from the movement component (61) as soon as the vertical lateral border (3a) of the door panel (3) intercepts the user's arm.
An additional advantage of the display (200) consists in the easy mounting and dismounting of the door panels (3), said door panels (3) being hinged to the display (200) only by means of the second pivoting pin (70) and the second section (71b) of the first pivoting pin (71).
Furthermore, an additional advantage is represented by the fact that the display (200) comprises only one electric motor (81) used to actuate all the panel doors (3). Having only one electric motor (81), the door panels (3) are moved in a synchronous manner, without having to be calibrated either electrically or electronically.
According to an additional embodiment of the invention, which is shown in
The horizontal portion (61a) comprises a lower side (611) directed towards the upper edge (3b) of the door panel (3).
The fast coupling/uncoupling means (92, 93) comprise magnetic retention means and, in particular, advantageously comprise a magnet (92) fixed on the lower side (611) of the horizontal portion (61a) of the movement component (61), and a metal bracket (93) fixed on the upper edge (3b) of the door panel (3).
Such an arrangement of the fast coupling/uncoupling means (92, 93) provides for an additional advantage, which is represented by the fact that the door panels (3) can be released from the corresponding movement component (61) in both directions, both in opening and closing direction.
Otherwise said, if a door panel (3) is blocked in complete or partial opening position because of malfunctioning, the user could close the door panels (3) by pulling them towards him/her and releasing the door panel (3) from the corresponding movement component (61).
With reference to
In particular, said switch (I) is configured in such a way to send an activation signal to the actuation means (M) that actuate the hinging means to rotate each door panel (3) around its axis of rotation (Y-Y).
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| 9814327, | Apr 27 2015 | INDUSTRIE SCAFFALATURE ARREDAMENTI—ISA S.R.L. | Display provided with automatically and manually operable revolving door panels |
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| Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
| Mar 31 2016 | GIULIETTI, MARCO | INDUSTRIE SCAFFALATURE ARREDAMENTI - ISA S R L | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 038523 | /0051 | |
| Apr 22 2016 | INDUSTRIE SCAFFALATURE ARREDAMENTI—ISA S.R.L. | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / |
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